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What is geek? Or who.

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DISCLAIMER: The opinions and views here, as always, are those of our contributors and not our organization as a whole. That said, this editorial is meant to provoke and inspire.. Join the conversation. Labels are never 100% accurate but they do help us connect and identify with each other, no?

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If you don’t understand half of the jokes on The Big Bang Theory, that doesn’t mean you’re not a geek. If you can’t explain why Captain Picard is superior to Captain Kirk – that may be a problem. And it’s a problem because geek can be cool. Geek can rock.

You want to rock – don’t you? In other words, you want to be accepted, loved and honored – right?

It’s been suggested that the historical usage of the term, geek, refers to 20th Century circus performers that challenged conventional perceptions and experience. The bearded woman. The dwarf. The man or woman who would bite the heads off of live chickens. But the term, geek, came back into currency in the last twenty something years and it came back to mean something else entirely.

On the one hand, geek came to be substituted for nerd – a socially and emotionally challenged, highly intelligent, obsessively compulsive, introverted, fearful personality type. At least that’s what Dr. Seuss seems to imply. [grin] But the present usage of geek is almost sexy and, almost, cool. Geeks can be desirable and geeks might just save the world. Or, at least, we would like to believe that geeks will save the world.

While nerds tend to barricade themselves in their domain of interests and ignore the challenges of ordinary human experience, geeks want to live and they want to feel alive. Geeks get excited about the things that people get excited about – supercars, intercontinental business class flights, and attractive, exciting lovers.

All of which means that the geek wants to own acceptance, approval, praise, celebration and, oh yeah, a whole lotta love.

Both geeks and nerds will overthink things. They are information junkies but that doesn’t mean they know how to effectively use information, filter and sift it, make good decisions or act upon it. The geek, however, makes a better effort to derive some kind of value from the data collection. Their motivation to do so, of course, is money, power and influence. Of course, most of them won’t admit to their ambitions. Because it would look bad. It would look Chatlanian.

Beyond the general distinction between the nerd and the modern geek, there’s several behaviors by which you can recognize the new, sexy geek. Below are six clues that I have observed.

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Grooming

The new geek knows how to groom and dress up for the occasion.

They don’t have to turn it on all the time but when they do, they do it well. They go for the cut, color and style and you don’t get that at a barbershop or low cost, franchise hair cuttery. Male geeks get manicures and pedicures on occasion. They shower daily and know a little something about maintenance cosmetics and fragrance.

Of course, you are likely to find them in a bathrobe, underwear or birthday suit at home where no one sees them.

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Relationships

The new geek knows how to relate to people that are interesting to them – colleagues, friends, lovers, successful geeks, fans and followers.

They have some understanding of how to respect, cherish, support and savor the people meaningful to them. They try to remember birthdays, they choose and give thoughtful gifts and they expect likewise. They can be devoted friends and lovers but only as long as their friends and lovers are interesting, intense, and live up to their expectations. How interesting (not weird) are you?

The 30 something new geek has 3 or more friends, was involved in 3 or more romantic relationships and has more than 100 “friends” across social media. They talk about the bad shit that is going on in the Ukraine, Egypt, Nigeria and elsewhere. They do road trips to Star Bucks, Krispy Kreme, In and Out, and White Castle.

I fondly remember geeky road trips from Los Angeles to the burrito place at the Santa Cruz bus stop.

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Neo-hedonism

Though it might be tempting to suggest the new geek is a neo-epicurean, modesty and, perhaps, virtue is not basic to the new geek think.

Like the neo-epicurean, the new geek is a materialist. They love life, the world, and the unrestricted promise (false or otherwise) of happiness and pleasure. Obviously, the new geek makes a poor missionary, patriot, revolutionary, saint or soldier.

Unlike the neo-epicurean, the new geek seeks self-gratification with a little (or lot of) license and zeal. They gush about the things that give them happy – Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest give them a voice for such material, self-centered self-expression. They make passionate customers., but also fickle if you can’t keep it interesting.

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Any kind of spirituality a new geek does always comes with a heavy handed materialism. Not a shallow or ruthless materialism – but an undeniable interest in the physical world and one’s physical well-being. The new geek is very comfortable with the paradox of wanting to save the world without the self-denials that come with a deep spirituality.

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Gaming

Geeks love games and not just computer or traditional parlor games.

They love to game life, excel, compete, and receive honor for their achievements. Every geek has to know and have played Sid Meier’s Civilization and played God-level and won against near impossible odds. It’s the ultimate litmus test of geek sexual performance. Or I jest.

Seriously, the new geek games in one way or another. Everquest, World of Warcraft, Poker, casino games, day trading, etc. – two or more of these things should evoke nostalgia, fond memories of glory and comrades, and a shit-eating grin for the new geek. Candy Crush and Farmville do not count.

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Higher Consciousness

The new geek is not simply egocentric, but his/her egocentrism expands to the far reaches of the universe, multiverse, life, time and extra-dimensional cultures.

So, yeah, the new geek likes sci-fi, fantasy and/or end of the world content. The new geek knows something about Doctor Who, Mad Max, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Terminator, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Any of which can seem outrageous when such higher consciousness is self-expressed in cosplay or other geeky antics.

But there’s another side to this higher consciousness that is sensible – curiosity, open-mindedness, problem-solving, creativity, empathy, and a deeper connection with the world, with others and with creation. This is often expressed by a desire to do the right thing, save the world, or make a difference.

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The new geek gives money to causes because that’s how we live out our secret super powers. Batman, Superman and all the X-Men may inspire us, but we can slap down the spare change and make things happen. Five bucks here for Bloo, 20 bucks there and $100 elsewhere – more than a few times in a year. They might not have the time to give to the homeless, poor or whatever but they know if they don’t throw money at several causes and fundraisers – they aren’t doing what they can.

Mommies and Daddies

The new geek could be a mommy, a daddy, grandparent or alien from P9C-372.

They may remember Tom Baker playing Doctor Who. Or the PBS telethons that did the Whovian marathons. They may even remember previous incarnations of the Doctor.

They may find it difficult to admit that Picard is superior to Kirk, but as long as they know a little something something about TNG, Babylon 5, Farscape, SG1, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones – they’re doing something right. [grin]

Yes, they have to know about the X-men too – not just Batman, Superman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman.

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Are you the sexy, new kind of geek?

Is there anything else that you would modify or add to this list? Share them with us in the comments! Because the new geek makes awesome comments.

Stan Faryna is a sexy geek. He’s writing an epic sci-fi, fantasy, end-of-the-world story that is going to be a multi-week New York Times best-seller and hit HBO TV series. Or so he hopes.

UPDATE: We’ve had tremendous response from this post (yet the comments are lacking.. Hmmm…) and I realize that some are still very uncomfortable with T&A, even though it is relevant. I’d hate for our fellow gamers to miss out on an important discussion over something so trivial. So I have changed it.

Sorry fellas.. But the show must go on!

Here is a parody video that should lighten the mood for those that find this subject matter a bit touchy. I’m sure many of you have seen this already (Seth Green, Michelle Boyd, etc.):

The previously featured image of GamerGirl90 (read on) is what some guys imagine (or hope) your average gamer girl would look like. This is not very realistic, for a few reasons. The reality is that we gamers come in different shapes and sizes, folks. Besides, jaded gamers tend to expect the worst in the faceless entities they play with over the interwebz. Apparently, all us gamers are fat, lazy slobs with acne.. Or at least that’s the stereotype.

For some background info, check out HorsePLAY! EP18 – the HD video is provided up there.^^^

Over at Be Like Water, they have a Woman Crush Wednesday theme. We shared the Lady Sif / Jaimie Alexander Woman Crush Wednesday post here because, let’s face it: that’s the sort of stuff that draws people in. Sure, there are list posts, cute-overload animal photos, silly memes, cheats, and other SEO, traffic-boosting subject matter but those are not particularly evergreen. The female form is art: timeless, beautiful, and intriguing to most of the world.. I know even some gay guys that find boobies (I’m more of a booty guy myself) appealing.. It must be a guy thing!

GamerGirl90 is just an everyday girl.. And she just happens to play games.. And be easy on the eyes. Just sayin.

Now let’s set the stage further: this is the story of the disappearance of GamerGirl90 and the drama that ensues when geeks as a whole can’t play nice together. GamerGirl90 used to be a DeviantArt contributor (here is some of GamerGirl90’s DeviantArt work). Sadly, she was scared away due to trolls and clients who refused to pay her for commissioned work (after she delivered the goods, mind you). She was a very engaging individual. Not only is she easy on the eyes but she is quite talented as an artist. DeviantArt, hell, the geek community has suffered a great loss.

This sort of thing happens all the time.. And it’s a bummer.

Cynical geeks may think that people like GamerGirl90 are attention-starved, inauthentic posers. The most prevelant stigma dictates that attractive women can’t possibly be “true gamers” or real geeks. But look at that artwork – the coloring is beautiful.. And that is a rough work. What people fail to see is that geek culture is so pervasive that we’re no longer the minority. Heck, jocks and pop culture junkies are more of a minority now.

So let’s look at heard numbers to prove a point. Wikipedia confirms what a lot of studies have suggested. Almost half of the gaming populice are women!

In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (18 percent).” Entertainment Software Association’s 2013 study found that 45% of game players are female, 2% decrease from last year’s figures.

Thank goodness for that because, let’s face it: the screechers are the worst of them all. Seriously, though, this just goes to show that we should not longer be shocked that we encounter women in our favorite games. Sadly, biases continue and the assumption is that women only play social or casual games. The statistics speak for themselves: gamer girls run the full gamut in terms of gaming preferences, appearance, personalities, and more. There are more differences within sub-groups than gender yet some folks will desperately hold onto their ignorant assumptions… Why?

Is this sort of thing classy, tacky, or just plain pathetic? Is this just a mere marketing stunt?

It’s easy to let our biases guide us towards hasty judgments and bitterness. The general assumption is that women that make themselves known online are attention whores but that is not always the case. Let’s be honest: if you got it, flaunt it.. More importantly, we all like attention and doting to a degree (hello, social media). We humans are social creatures, after all.

For the sake of brevity, I will insert a page break here. Click onwards to read more, where we’ll tackle the core issues. For those who only came for the eye candy, at least leave a comment and share before leaving.. Thanks! *wink*

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